Increasing a protein in brain support cells extended fly life
Genetic experiments in adult flies produced modest, reproducible lifespan gains by increasing a protein found at the surface of brain-support cells.
Limit: Gene-activity analysis used only two whole-head samples from females
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In Drosophila flies, researchers used genetic experiments to test whether proteins on glial cells, which support brain health, affected lifespan. They first compared these surface proteins in 5-day-old and 50-day-old flies, using 2,400 dissected brains from males and females. DIP-β, a cell-surface protein, was less abundant in old flies.
Increasing DIP-β in adult glial cells extended lifespan. The gains were modest but repeated across two genetic methods. Separate analyses of gene activity used heads from 50-day-old female flies, with DIP-β increased in glia from day 5 to day 50 or left unchanged. The changes mainly involved glial cells and fat cells. Increased glial DIP-β was also associated with improved communication between cells.
Why it matters
Glial cells help maintain brain health, and their surface proteins help mediate interactions between cells. The authors identified DIP-β as a potential glial regulator of brain aging.
Caveats
Lifespan extension does not establish that brain degeneration slowed. These were fly experiments, and the gene-activity analysis compared only two whole-head samples from females.
The paper
In-situ glial cell-surface proteomics identifies pro-longevity factors in Drosophila
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